Today in AMS (1/9/07)

Another roundup from Galleycat, including this statement (PDF) issued yesterday by PGW President Rich Freese. Freese asserts that the publishers are the owners of the inventory in the Indianapolis warehouse and that he’s cutting COD checks for post-petition payments. (I don’t believe the first assertion was ever in question. Then again, it’s Freese’s ass against the wall.) Well, that’s great, Rich, but what about pre-petition payments? You know, those monies PGW owes the publishers from October, November, and December? Well, that’s where a motion filed on January 5th comes in. The motion hopes to give PGW publishes “Critical Vendor status” and pay out these amounts sometime this month. Even if this motion passes, however, this still doesn’t ensure that the monies paid out won’t be “pennies on the dollar” payments. Again, as I pointed out in my initial post, PGW is going to need a lot more than $75 million to handle that.

There’s still nothing concrete on yesterday’s PW rumor that AMS was planning to sell out PGW. If you have any leads, drop me an email.

Rachel Kramer Bussel reprints an email from Best Lesbian Erotica editor Tristan Taormino. In an effort to make up lost revenue, Cleis Press is offering a winter sale.

More on the Quarto setback, which appears not to be as severe as previously reported, from This is Money. Broker Collins Stewart has remarked that AMS was only 3% of Quarto’s total sales.

Meanwhile, former PGW employee Erica Mulkey writes: “I don’t know how I feel about this. It seemed inevitable, but what sucks is that yeah, PGW management has been weak and ineffective for a long time, at least since Mark Ouimet left, possibly since Charlie left, but PGW was essentially a Good Company. AMS (who bought PGW in 2001, or was it early 2002?) has been unprofessional and poorly managed to an unbelievable degree this whole time, and everyone knew it. Anytime AMS tried to interfere with PGW it was debacle after clusterfuck after shitstorm.”